Lightspeed is shaping its India strategy around artificial intelligence. The firm is targeting $250 million for a new early-stage fund. It aims to bet that technology will drive the next startup wave in the region.
The Silicon Valley venture firm already backs major artificial intelligence companies globally. Its portfolio includes Anthropic, xAI, and Databricks. In India, it invested in Sarvam AI. That startup builds large language models and assists the Indian government with sovereign models.
The upcoming vehicle is called Lightspeed India Partners V. It is half the size of its predecessor from 2022. That previous fund raised $500 million. The new vehicle has already secured commitments for 80 percent of its target.
Lightspeed disclosed the new fund in a United States regulatory filing in late April. Indian media previously reported a target between $300 million and $350 million. A letter sent to investors on Thursday confirmed the current $250 million target.
The firm plans to begin deploying capital from the new fund within two months. The vehicle has an investment period of roughly two and a half years. Final investments from the existing fund will continue until then.
Lightspeed is aligning its regional funds with global fundraising cycles for the first time. This change brings its India business closer to the rest of the firm. Rival firm Accel made a similar shift in August.
The smaller fund size matches current deployment speeds and a shorter investment timeframe. Lightspeed told investors this approach allows a focus on individual deals. It also enables the firm to raise its next fund sooner.
The thesis anticipates artificial intelligence creating more value in India than the internet. The fund will seek companies across India and Southeast Asia. India has not yet produced a major frontier model developer globally. However, investors see application layer opportunities due to the large software developer pool.
Lightspeed manages more than $65 billion globally. Dedicated India and Southeast Asia funds have deployed roughly $900 million. Global funds have invested another $1.6 billion to support the regional portfolio.
The same team managing the previous four funds will lead the new vehicle. Lightspeed plans to begin investing from the fund within two months.
